Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal

Nepal: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 65.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
65.8%
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
57th
of 113 countries
All-time high
65.8%
in 2024
All-time low
40.9%
in 2005
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal, 2005–2024

02040602005201420242005: 40.9 %2006: 40.9 %2007: 40.9 %2008: 40.9 %2009: 40.9 %2010: 42.6 %2011: 44.2 %2012: 45.9 %2013: 47.6 %2014: 49.2 %2015: 50.9 %2016: 52.5 %2017: 54.2 %2018: 55.8 %2019: 57.5 %2020: 59.1 %2021: 60.8 %2022: 62.4 %2023: 64.1 %2024: 65.8 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal stood at 65.8%. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 33.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal peaked at 65.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 40.9%, in 2005.

Nepal ranks 57th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 40.9% 40.9% 40.9% 5
2010s 50.0% 42.6% 57.5% 10
2020s 62.4% 59.1% 65.8% 5

Countries ranked near Nepal

  1. 54 Tajikistan 67.6% compare
  2. 55 Suriname 66.8% compare
  3. 56 Bangladesh 66.1% compare
  4. 58 Kiribati 58.6% compare
  5. 59 Laos 56.6% compare
  6. 60 Yemen 56.3% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Nepal

All data for Nepal →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal?
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Nepal was 65.8% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Nepal?
The highest recorded value was 65.8% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Nepal?
The lowest recorded value was 40.9% in 2005.
How does Nepal rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
Nepal ranks 57th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Nepal?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nepal data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
113 places, 1,715 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.